Bourdieu e l’Europa: un rapporto a due dimensioni

Abstract

The essay focuses on the multidimensional relationship between Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and Europe. Firstly, it is emphasized that the Bourdieusian approach is from its very first steps an integral part of the reconstruction of a European sociology and therefore of the conditions that make it thinkable and possible. Secondly, the European dimension assumes an increasingly explicit sociological-political character, particularly visible in the years of maturity of the French intellectual. In this case Bourdieu is directly engaged in the political field at a juncture in which the conservative neoliberal revolution is affirming, even in the European space. In this double movement, there is a common thread that distinguishes Bourdieusian sociology: the definition of a rigorous and innovative theoretical approach (never separated from empirical analysis) combined with a particular commitment with repercussions also in the political field. A commitment that has assumed the construction of a European utopia as a strategic objective.